The human mind

The brain - the CPU of the human body.It bloody well weighs not more than 1.6 - 1.8 kgs but can store tonnes and tonnes(or nanobytes,terabytes or any other form of byte) of information. I would call it god's most precious gift to mankind.My apologies to all feminists for using the word mankind but being the traditionalist that I am,I will prefer to stick to this word.
At times I do wonder what all this magnificent little devil can do if it is used in the proper way.We all have seen what it forces evil to do if they start using their brains in the wrong way.A look at recent history would give us glaring examples like Hitler,Stalin,Polpot,Osama and many others.The point here is what exactly goes on in a human mind and what is it that gives it the fuel and fodder to do things that it makes us do.I,for example, do keep using my brain continuously but its output usually isn't of much relevance to the world or to my immediate near and dear ones!!! Some people have also given me an alias called "Lost World".My mind generally makes me travel places where I have never been.At one moment I am in places like Kashmir,North East India,Goa and at the next moment I would be thinking about my family,career,friends and the good old times,though not necessarily in that order.In times when the heart comes out stronger over the brain,I generally go into a completely different zone and think about some special people who might actually be standing next to me at times!
The point here is not what all I think but what is it that makes the brain think or do all the things it makes us do.I am sure different people have much better control over their lives and also over their thoughts.But, this surely doesn't mean that they wouldn't be thinking about some vague things.At times I do feel like getting into the minds of some of my friends to get to know what exactly they think about me or others.Okay,okay,I know it would amount to spying but what the heck.It might make my life less complicated and easier as I would know who are my well wishers and who are just part time companions enjoying my company in their journey of life.

India's new age heroes

Today on the 15th of August I feel a sense of fulfillment as well as sorrow.A feeling of pride makes my heart swell with pride over all the achievements this great nation has made over the last 60 years.These years have given us a new set of heroes to look up to.I prefer to call them the new age heroes for the present generation. It has taken years of hardwork and dedication on the part of lakhs of people due to which we are at the cusp of being a dominant player on the world stage.About 15 years back this would have been unimaginable.The new age heroes of India have made the unthinkable very much possible.
One of the first heroes to come to my mind is the Indian soldier. I am talking about the guy who carries a heavy haversack on his back with that huge rifle in his hands to shoot at his enemies.This soldier has been guarding the borders of India right from the Kashmir valley to the terrains in North-East and the desert of Rajasthan.We can also find him in the jungles of interior India fighting the naxalties,maoists and other extremist outfits. Hats off to all the soldiers of our armed forces who have been doing their duty with utmost sincerity dedication. The people of India will forever be indebted to the soldiers who lost their lives in the wars which India has fought against external as well as internal enemies.
N R Narayanamurty is a household name in India today.His is a success story of middle class India.Today, Infosys holds a special place in the hearts of all its shareholders,employees and customers due to the hard work put in by N R Narayanamurhty and his team of co-founders.Their success story has proved that success can be achieved without resorting to corrupt,dishonest and shortcut practices.No wonder Infosys is held in high esteem by its competitors too.
Anna Hazare is another name which is synonimous in the battle against corruption and exploitation.The battle against the move to curb the provisions in the RTI(Right to Information) Act was won due to the unitiring efforts of men like Anna Hazare.One can associate his name with innumerable anit-corruption crusades against the government machinery.
Sheila Dikshit is a name which comes to mind when one thinks of development and peformance.One can find very few people from her field making an entry into the good books of the common man!This in itself is a compliment for any politician.She has won 3 consecutive terms as the CM of Delhi a state which is notrorious for its criminal activities and wayward ways of the babus who run it.Her presence in politics shows a glimmer of hope for young India which is looking for development driven politics.She is a beacon of hope for middle class India.
Ratan Tata is a name which immediately evokes the legacy of the Tata's. The fact that he took over as chairman of Tata Sons from his legendary uncle-JRD Tata meant he had to live upto the highest standards. Today after more than a 100 years the Tata's have built a presense in almost every possible sector.Their success story is no mean feat in a country where cutting corners and adopting malpractices to earn has become a norm.The Tata's have been successful inspite of not resorting to such practices.The acquisition of Corus steel(UK based steel giant) and the Jaguar-Land Rover brands were a feather in the cap for corporate India.These acquisitions were an indication of India's arrival on the world stage.
The list does not end here.There are many other countless Indians like the judges,doctors,teachers and farmers who work tirelessly for the betterment of India.They are the unheard and unsung heroes who have not been given their due by history.Hopefully our future generations will realise that the precious gift of freedom given to us by our forefathers would have been snatched away from us had it not been for the untiring efforts of these wondeful men and women.

Moving on

The last 2.5 years have been one of the best and most enriching years of my life.
I spent those in the IT city of India - Bangalore. Destiny and luck got me in touch with some of the best possible roommates I could have got. Luck got me in touch with someone who in turn introduced me to some really great friends. Time just flew by in the company of these wonderful friends. I possibly couldn't have asked for more from anyone. Today I have got a transfer to Pune which is very much near Bombay,my hometown. The decision to take this transfer was a very conscious one taken after some deep thought.I had to move on in life at some point of time. I am not sure when I will meet those wonderful friends I still have in Bangalore. The only thing I am sure about is that they will always be a very important part of my life whom I will never forget.
I do have this mild feeling of sadness in my heart. I know I will overcome it in some time.However, I pray to God that he doesn't let me overcome the feeling of warmth that we all have for each other.

A must read

Some time back around last year I came across a book based on a true story.The title of the book read "The Sinking of the INS Khukri".It was written by a former Indian army major - Ian Cardoza(if I'm not wrong). This book is based on the 1971 Indo-Pak war which resulted in the birth of Bangladesh.I went through the back cover of the book and I just had to buy it as it was based on the true story of a few brave Navy Officers who lost their lives when an Indian war ship was sunk by the Pakistan Navy.
The captain of the ship was Mahendra Nath Mulla,a charismatic officer who led from the front.This is one of the best war stories I have ever read.It teaches us a lot about team work,leadership qualities,humanity and most importantly our duty towards the nation.Mr. Mahendra Nath Mulla was literally the last man standing on the ship as Naval traditions expect the captain of the ship not to leave it alone when it is sinking even if all the others on board have been saved.Mr. Mulla left behind his wife and two young daughters when he died.The book is a very poignant description of the lives of almost all the naval officers who lost their lives on board the vessel.It also speaks about the families that these officers left behind in the hope that they would be cared for by the insitutions they had served throught their lifetime and the country for which they sacrificed their lives.Not much has been written about these officers since their death.Towards the end of the book, General Cardoza does mention that Captain Mulla's daughters are now married and have children who are in their late teens and 20's.After I finished reading the book I actually felt like meeting them just to pay homage to this great soldier and his fellow officers who lost their lives in that war.I am sure others too will feel the same after reading the book.

A Nation introspects

November 26 will always be remembered as a black day in India.The nation suffered one of the most audacious terror attacks carried out in any part of the world. For the next 3 days the business hub of South Bombay was turned into a war zone.A lot happened during those 3 days and afterwards.People were out on the streets shouting slogans against the terrorists,the system,politicians and almost anyone responsible for the mess we found ourselves in.The lives of one of the brightest and most efficient police officers and commandos were blighted.Around 200 innocent civilian lives were lost in the madness of those 3 days.
Many heads have rolled since then.A lot has been said and written about in the media and other circles.More importantly,people have started demanding the much needed change in the political and bureaucratic system.This talk of change till now was only restricted to political rallies and election speeches.This time things seem to be different.Now the people are demanding and the politicians are on the backfoot.This situation has been created not just due to the loss of those 200 lives in those dreadful attacks.It is a situation which has been created due to the loss of the lives of thousands of soldiers along the borders of India in the past 60 years and those in the paramiltary and police force.The loss of innocent civilians in Kashmir,North Eastern states of India,Punjab and many other states have only added to the body count.The nation always was a mute spectator to this madness.The wayward ways of the political class were seldom questioned which always led to more bloodshed.November 26th was a catalyst to all this madness around us.It has awakened us from our slumber as now the enemy is not just at our doorstep but is inside our homes.The anger and outrage of the people over the system is totally justified.The terrorists not only attacked our homes but also our lifestyle,our history and our freedom.They need to be stopped immediately.The resolve shown by the people after the attacks has been very heartening.This show of strength and unity wouldn't have been possible had it not been for the meaningless loss of lives of the civilians and security forces.We will not be able to get back those who are no more with us.The people we lost on the borders, Kashmir,Punjab,North East and umpteen number of places can never be brought back.But we surely can pledge to ensure that the November 26 attacks will never be repeated.In case they do,we will come out on the streets and demand our basic rights of freedom and security even if the attacks occur in a nondescript village of India.Most importantly, let us pray for those we lost to the madness of violence over the last 60 years.India owes a lot to each and every one of them-civilians as well as soldiers.Let us pray that we as a nation do not fail to protect our citizens.We can only say sorry to the one's who are no more with us.As for those who are with us,let us ask ourselves if we care.I'm sure the answer would be an overwhelming yes.Let this answer be the beginning of a new democratic but firm resolution.This unity should go out as a warning to our enemies both within and oustide the country.The message for our political class is very clear- perform or perish.As for our enemies,we have only one thing to say - Don't you dare!

A Nation mourns the loss of its brave sons

Terror has struck the financial capital of India yet again.The figures give a better idea about the scale and audacity of this attack- 125 dead, 325 injured,25 hours of intense gun fighting and the battle is still not over as I write about the loss of lives! Amidst all this madness and mayhem,there is one thing common with all other terrorist attacks.It was the people and hapless security forces who had to face the fire while our politicians and leaders sat in their air-conditioned offices with Z + security.
I don't even feel like wasting my time and energy to write about our shameless politicians from the government as well as opposition parties.The entire political class should be thrown in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.I'm sure the contamination levels would only increase manyfold!
What I do care about, like many other fellow Indians, is the lives of innocent citizens and security officers.Three IPS officers ended up losing their lives in the last 24 hours.Hemant Karkare,Vijay Salaskar and Ashok Kamte are no more.Hemant Karkare,the Mumbai ATS chief,had come under fire from the right wing Hindu organisations and political parties after the ATS arrested "Sadhvi" Pragya, Lt. Col Srikant Purohit and some other members of Abhinav Bharat for their alleged role in the Malegaon blasts. He was also called a traitor by many of these organisations for arresting "Hindu's"! Ironically he died a hero's death fighting Islamic terrorists who had opened indiscriminate fire in Mumbai in the late hours of 26 November 2008. At the time of this encounter none of the leaders of these so called nationalist organisations were out on the streets to protect the common man.They probably were busy hatching another plot to forment communal violence between our own countrymen while the government turns a blind eye to everything going on around it to appease the minority. This country sure has a motley bunch of leaders to choose from! It is difficult to judge which group is the worst of the lot!
Along with Hemant Karkare,Mumbai police also lost encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar and Ashok Kamte,former commissioner of Solapur who was always known to be in the thick of action. These officers were supposed to be one of the best in their profession.Hemant Karkare was the kind of leader who led from the front.As chief of the ATS he was never expected to go out on the battlefield with a gun in his hands.Yet,he just did that.Have we ever seen any politician do something of this sort? In a nation like ours where the political class is just not bothered about the plight of the citizens and the state of the country,we can confidently say that the loss of these 3 brave men and their colleagues will not bring any kind of change in attitude of the political leaders.It is with deep anguish and resentment that I say the loss of these 3 officers is just the beginning of many such losses.We have in the past lost many brilliant officers due to the spineless and selfish approach of politicians.We will continue to lose many more officers in the future unless all these politicians are kicked on their bums and booted out by the people of the country.Till then we unfortunately will have to write many such blogs in memory of the Karkare's,Salaskar's and Kamte's.

Heroes of Independent India

The year 1947 was a watershed in the history of India.The colonial rulers exited India and in the process,British ruled India was split into two nations.It has been more than 60 years since India's colonial rulers left the shores of India.In the last 60 years,India has definitely gone through a lot of ups and downs. She has been through the highs of the patriotic fervour of the 1940's and early 50's,the glorious victory of 1971 against her perennial neighbour Pakistan,the economic independence of the early 90's which followed the start of the liberalisation of the mid 80's and also its very own industrial revolution through the IT boom of the late 90's.In the very same period, she has lost many of her son's in the secessionist movements that started as early as the 60's in the North-East,Punjab in the late 70's to the early 90's and Kashmir from the early 90's onwards.India also had to go through a humiliating loss to China in the 1962 border war which had threatened to blow up into a full blown war,till the Chinese unilaterally withdrew(not before it consolidated its hold on NEFA and parts of Ladakh which it still continues to hold).One cannot forget the dark days of emergency which threatened to kill India's dreams of being a democratic nation with a strong and independent judiciary and civil services or the Ayodhya movement of the late 80's and early 90's which threatened to destroy the secular fabric of the country. Admidst all of this,India has managed to move on and march ahead on the path towards progress and development.Surely it is not just the gods who have smiled upon India all these years.Many heroes did emerge through the turbulent period of the early years who not only challenged the system but also emerged victorious and removed many of the loopholes and flaws in the system.These heroes showed the nation a path to move ahead and achieve success without fear and trepidition.They emerged as the real heroes of the common man and not just mere poster boys propped up by the media.
J P Narayan was one such hero who emerged on the political landscape a couple of years before emergency was clamped down by Indira Gandhi's Congress party. J P Narayan arguably was the only leader after Mahatma Gandhi who had the stature and respect among his contemporaries who managed to bring them all together on a common platform.He emereged as the leader of an eclectic group of political parties which had a common goal of defeating Indira Gandhi and bring an end to her tyrannical rule in the country.She had successfully de-institutionalised the Congress party by removing all the strong leaders in the Congress who could have emerged as a threat to her dominance and was being pushed to do the same throughout the civil services and judiciary by her infamous younger son Sanjay Gandhi who in most of the cases was running the show within the party and the government.The movements launched by J P Narayan in Bihar against corruption led to the dismissal of the state government and also shook the centres of power in Delhi.The movement launched by him spread to the neighbouring states and also to Gujarat and were the major reasons for emergency to be clamped down by an anxious central government.
Former Chief Election Commissioner of India T N Seshan was another hero who changed the way IAS officers and the office of the Election Commission functioned. T N Seshan was one officer who always stood up against the government and political elite for taking unilateral decisions. T N Seshan took over as India's CEC at a time when the electoral spending by political parties had reached a mammoth sum.He was arguably the first CEC who made the political elite realise that the office of the CEC could not be taken for granted. Some of the decisions taken by him like holding elections in phases over a period of 15-30 days were momentous and faced a lot of opposition from the political parties who always wanted elections to be held on the same day all over the country and state for their own petty purposes.T N Seshan also imposed strict rules like campaign timings and spending limits per candidate which previously were never implemented by former CEC's who either didn't have the spirit or character to take on the political class of the country. Some of T N Seshan's policies have had far reaching consequences even after his retirement from office.India has been able to conduct free and fair elections in regions like the North-East and leftist violence affected regions of Jharkhand,Bihar and Andhra Pradesh due to honest and upright IAS officers like him.Most of T N Seshan's contemporaries have followed his ideas and policies while conducting elections.T N Seshan was one officer who managed to bring the respect and dignity that the office of the Election Commission deserves.The Election Commission deserves all the accolades that come its way for ensuring that India's dream of being a democratic nation with an electoral franchise is not killed by selfish and self serving politicians who only care about their positions of power and not about the country's progress.

To be contd...